


Beauty and the Selkie

by PaintedPianoBlack



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, selkie!au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-22
Updated: 2014-04-22
Packaged: 2018-01-20 09:10:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1504802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaintedPianoBlack/pseuds/PaintedPianoBlack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The kingdom of Avonlea lay stretched betwixt the sea cliffs and the flat marshes, and its people often told fantastic tales of the waters that surround their lands. The sea foam was said to birth maids and monsters alike, and the fair bog lights could lure travelers to fortune or ruin, depending upon the wind’s turning. The most famous of these tales, however, was that of a beautiful lady who, forsaking all earthly loves and lovers, wed herself to a selkie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beauty and the Selkie

**Author's Note:**

> So Rumbelle selkie!AU. Because seal mermaids. Heavily inspired by Heather Dale's "The Maiden and the Selkie".

The fog lay low along the shore and danced between her feet as she made her way down to the sea. The Lady Belle of Avonlea, beautiful as her name, often came to the low shores to wander down the sandy coast, liking the feel of the foaming surf on her feet and the solitude of the place. Some days she would bring a book and settle herself on a flat rock a safe distance from the spray and read for hours to the rumbling of the waves. Today she’d come empty handed, cloak drawn close against the chill, content to watch the surf roll forever inward. She did wish the fog would lift a little, that she could better see the seals gamboling amid the waves. As it was she could barely make out their leaping shapes, though their barking calls echoed in her ears. She smiled at the sound that had always somehow reminded her of laughter.

 

Then from further down the shore a new sound broke through the cries of seals and sea. It was strange, something between a bark and a man’s pained moan, and Belle turned toward its source in alarm. Whatever or whoever was making that noise was obviously in some kind of distress. She sprinted quickly as she could through the sand, hoping it was not too late to help.

 

As the sounds grew louder and she closer, a shape resolved itself through the mist. She approached and the shape became a small man writhing on the sand, tangled in a thick net. She knelt down beside him and he stilled, though still trembling, and turned his face to her. On a calmer occasion Belle might have blushed at the man, oddly handsome and blatantly naked underneath his bindings. As it was, she was consumed by the fear and pain in his shining brown eyes, darker and larger than any man’s she’d seen. Distantly they reminded her of seal eyes. 

 

"Easy, easy. I’m going to cut you out of this, alright? Just try not to move too much."

 

She hoped dearly that he could understand her, that he wasn’t come foreign sailor washed up in a shipwreck and speaking some tongue unknown to her. But he seemed to follow her instructions, his shivering diminishing somewhat. She hiked up her skirt to retrieve the small dagger she kept sheathed to her thigh, and noticed with some amusement that the man averted his eyes as she did so. Well, whoever he was, at least he seemed a gentleman.

 

Slowly so as not to frighten him, Belle set to work cutting through the knotted rope twisted around the man. His desperate thrashings had only tightened the net around his limbs, and as she worked her way down the man’s legs she noticed that it was especially constricted around his right ankle, which was bruised black and bleeding slightly from the rope cutting into it, the foot below going purple for lack of blood.

 

"Hm. She paused a moment, and the man seemed to notice her concern, turning once again to face her. 

 

"It’s alright, dear." He murmured, voice shy and low and airy all at once. "I know it’s going to hurt. Just- ah- make it quick."

 

"I’m sorry. I’ll do my best." She grimaced in sympathy and took the injured appendage into her lap. Carefully she slid the thin tip of the knife between rope and skin, cutting through and drawing a wince from the man. Then she managed to extricate him completely, heart aching to see the damage done to the poor man. She only hoped the injury would heal with time. 

 

"Thank- thank you." He smiled sheepishly. He then seemed to remember his own nakedness and moved to cover himself with his hands. "I’m terribly sorry for troubling you like this."

 

"It’s no trouble at all, I assure you." Belle laughed. "Nothing compared to the seal pup I came across last year. Poor little thing thrashed about the whole time I was cutting him loose; lucky I didn’t nick him on accident."

 

"A- a seal pup, did you say?" He seemed concerned and interested at that. She wondered why.

 

"Yes? Is that important?"

 

"Oh no, well yes, it’s just that-"

 

"How did you come to be tangled in that net anyway?" Belle interrupted, the question suddenly taking precedence in her mind. "Were you in a shipwreck?"

 

"Not- not exactly…" He gave an anxious smile that failed to chase the fear from his eyes, and Belle couldn’t help but notice that he was awkwardly shuffling himself away from her- back into the surf. He couldn’t possibly hope to swim away with that ankle? She closed her hand gently around his wrist and he froze again mid-sentence.

 

"Don’t worry." She assured him. "Whatever you’re not wanting to tell me, I can promise your secret’s safe with me." She could see he was hesitant to trust her, dark eyes searching her own for any shred of malice. But she smiled her sweetest for him, and at length he sighed and seemed to relax a bit.

 

"Well then… have you, by any chance, heard of a creature called a selkie?"

 

"Oh, of course I have! My mother told me stories of them when I was a child…" She broke off, eyeing him suspiciously. "You don’t really lure people into the ocean to eat them, do you?”

 

"What? Of course not! I’d never think of-" he stopped at the playful look on her face. "…You just wanted me to admit it, didn’t you?"

 

"Naturally. Everyone knows it’s kelpies that eat people.” She stood up upon the sand and bent toward him to offer her hand, careless of her dress trailing in the sea foam. “Now, my dear Sir Selkie, I think you’d best accompany me back home; that ankle needs to be set and bandaged if you don’t want it to get any worse.”

 

"Are you sure that’s wise?" He questioned. "I wouldn’t want to trouble you any further."

 

"It’s not any trouble, I’m telling you. Here-" She removed her cloak and draped it round his narrow shoulders. It covered him well enough, as she noticed he was only a scant few inches taller than herself. She then pulled his right arm over her shoulder, wrapping her left around his waist so as not to damage his ankle. "Much better. It’s not too far to the cottage, and when we get there you can tell me all about how you ended up on the beach. I confess I’m curious as to how many of the stories are true."

 

"I’ll be happy to tell you, dearie." He answered, hobbling shakily along even with her assistance. Belle wondered how much of this was due to his injury and how much because of the transition from fins to legs.

 

"And I suppose I should start with my name. It’s Rumplestiltskin."

 

"Hm. What a lovely name. Do you mind if call you Rumple?" He shook his head. "Alright then, Rumple. I’m Belle, by the way."

 

It was not long before they reached the small sea cottage where Belle spent most of her time away from her father’s court. The place had belonged to her mother’s mother, and had of late become something of a sanctuary for a woman long grown tired of the pageantry and pretension of courtly life. Here, in this little house by the sea, she was not anyone’s Lady, anyone’s prized bauble of a daughter, anyone’s fiancée. She was simply Belle, and she wished that was all she’d ever have to be.

 

As they walked much of the selkie’s shakiness had subsided, and they fell into a rhythm that somehow impressed upon her just how well their bodies fit together. This brought such thoughts to her head that she had to fight back a blush, chiding herself for thinking so of this handsome stranger who currently wore nothing but her borrowed cloak.

 

"Here we are- gently up the steps now- and in we go." She helped him to the door of the cottage and inside the creaking door, into the large sitting room that made up most of the house. She settled him into a chair by the empty fireplace before shuffling off to find something to wrap his ankle with, as well as something more to wear. She did not know if selkies could catch cold- she supposed not, given that they lived in the frigid sea, but still she’d not take any chances.

 

From an old trunk at the foot of her bed she retrieved thick bandages for his ankle and some old clothes of her fathers that would likely hang on him, but still would be better than nothing. When she returned her new friend was sitting in the chair just as she’d left him, though he was staring about the room as though he’d not seen its like before. She realized that might well be the case.

 

"Alright, now just let me take care of your ankle-" she knelt at his feet, dutifully avoiding looking too intently at his lap as she wrapped the fabric gently around the bruised flesh, careful to support the joint while not constricting too tightly. "And I’ve brought you some clothes. I doubt they’ll fit you, but they’re the best I could do under the circumstances."

 

"It’s quite alright," Rumplestiltskin told her, shrugging into the clothes as best he could around his injury. Belle fought the urge to help I order to preserve the selkie’s modesty. At length the rustling of fabric stopped and she turned around. She was right: her father’s clothes all but engulfed him, but at least now he wasn’t naked. He smiled brightly at her, big brown eyes shining.

 

"Well now that we’ve got you dressed, would you like something to eat while we talk? Is there anything you’d like?"

 

"Most any kind of fish is fine if you don’t mind; you needn’t bother cooking it."

 

"I don’t mind at all." She kept some smoked mackerel in the pantry; she only hoped he wouldn’t mind it not being fresh. She needn’t have worried, however; as soon as she brought it out her guest was taken with the dish, taking large chunks of the fish in his hands and wolfing it down. He slowed a bit as she sat down across from him.

 

"Now, what did you want to ask me?"

 

"Well first off I’d like to know how you have legs and not a seal tail like in the stories. I didn’t see your sealskin with you."

 

"Well on that account your stories are rather false, I’m afraid. We can come ashore like this when we like, so long as we don’t stay too long. As for the sealskins, you’ll only get those from a dead selkie."

 

"Hm. Then I guess my next question would be… What’s it like? Living below the sea, I mean."

 

He laughed a little then. “Well, what’s it like to live on land? It’s a bit hard to describe, dearie.” 

 

"Right, sorry. I’ve just always been so interested in far off places, different ways of life. And what’s more far off than the bottom of the sea?"

 

"Well, when you put it like that… I suppose it’s like absolute freedom; there’s no borders in the ocean, nothing to keep you from going where you please, as long as you’re not afraid…" Belle listened intently as he spoke, feeling as though she could drift away on his words, rolling like ocean waves. She wondered if all selkies had such beautiful voices.

 

"Have you been very many places, then?"

 

"I used to, long ago. Those days are behind me now, I’m afraid. I find it’s best if I stick close to home now. I have a son, you see; I need to be there for him."

 

"A son?" Belle realized instantly what he meant. "Oh! So the seal pup-"

 

"Was my little Bae, yes. I can’t thank you enough for rescuing him; the poor lad’s got a habit of getting himself into trouble."

 

"Much like his father, then." Belle joked. "So do you and your family live off the coast there where I found you?"

 

"In the sea caves thereabouts. It’s just me and Bae, though; has been for several years now since I lost his mother."

 

"I’m so sorry; what happened to her?"

 

"She fell in love with another- a human." Belle’s heart sank, though she could not say why. "You see, when I said that we selkies cannot stay on shore- I meant it. Should we tarry longer than a day on land, we die instantly. So when Milah let her lover whisk her away…" He trailed off with a sorrowful look. Belle couldn’t resist the urge to lay her hand upon his. Her touch seemed to comfort him, and soon his smile returned, albeit with a twinge of wistfulness.

 

"Now, what about you? I’ll admit I’m curious to know just what type of maiden makes a hobby of wandering the seashore and rescuing hapless selkies."

 

"There’s not much to tell, really." Belle began. "My father’s a merchant Lord in the town nearby, and I’ve lived there with him my whole life. This cottage was my grandmother’s- I used to come here with my mother until she died. Then I started coming here myself."

 

"You’d not rather be with your father? He must have a fine house for you, being a Lord."

 

"Oh, yes, and I love my father; it’s just… There just aren’t many opportunities for a woman to be more than someone’s daughter, mother, or wife, where he is. There’s not much room to be free. That’s why I come down here to the sea so much; here I can think for myself with no one to care or try to stop me."

 

 

"I have to say I’m thankful it was you that came across me; anyone else would have likely left me to die on that shore… If anyone else came at all."

 

"I’m just glad I was there when I was." Belle looked away suddenly. "If you’d washed up a day later…"

 

"What do you mean by that? I thought you said you came to the shore often?"

 

"I did, yes, but you see… Today is my last day to visit the sea."

 

"What? Why in the world is that?" Rumplestiltskin was obviously concerned.

 

"Because tomorrow I’m to be married. My father arranged a union between me and the son of one of his trading partners in another city- far from the sea. I’ll not see this place again for some time, if at all."

 

"But you don’t want to marry this man, do you?"

 

"Honestly, no. I mean, I’m sure he’s a good man, but he’s not what I want at all. None of this- is what I want." Belle spoke quietly and haltingly, as if on the verge of despair but trying her hardest to remain strong. 

 

"Then what do you want, dear?" Rumplestiltskin asked.

 

"You know… in all my life, I think you’re the first person to ever ask me that." Belle smiled at him. "Thank you, Rumple."

 

"Then can I ask you one more?"

 

"Of course."

 

"Would you like to come away with me? I know I’m not much, but you could be free- you’d not have to do anything you didn’t want again. It’s just- I’ve been looking for you ever since Bae came back and told me of you, of the beautiful girl who saved his life, and now that I’ve finally found you… I don’t want to lose you."

 

"Oh, Rumple…" She clasped his hands in hers, looking at him sadly. "I’d love to. But we both know I can’t live with you below the sea. And if you can’t stay on land more than a day…"

 

"If it weren’t for Bae, I’d stay with you until my last breath." He told her. It was then that they both became aware of the sun beginning to sink in the sky; they’d talked the morning away, and now their last hours together were slowly slipping through their hands.

 

"Don’t talk like that, Rumple. I don’t want anyone to die for me, especially you." She looked away, trying to think. "There must be some way…" She stood up as if gripped with a sudden revelation.

 

"There might be a way for us to be together after all." Belle said. "My grandmother lived by the sea her whole life, and she knew more about the selkie legends than anyone in town. She might have some book or something that’ll tell us what to do."

 

"What are we waiting for, then?" Rumplestiltskin stood as well, favoring his ankle but otherwise steady. "Come, I’ll help you look."

 

The two searched the cottage from top to bottom, looking in every room and shelf, every nook and crevice for anything that might be of use. As the hours passed and the time that the selkie could safely stay on shore diminished, Belle began to grow frustrated. 

 

"This doesn’t make any sense! I know there was a book that she kept all of her stories in; she used to read to me from it. I remember she’d always take it from her trunk before bed-“

 

"We’ve checked every trunk." Rumplestiltskin said from where he slumped despondently against the wall.

 

"I’ll just check it once more; it’s all we can do." She went back into the bedroom, kneeling before the large wooden chest. She’d emptied it out earlier in their search, but nothing but clothes and blankets had been inside. Still, she ran her hand over the bottom of the trunk, desperate for some clue. Then, as she pushed against the worn wood, she felt something shift below her hand, as if the wood were sliding about inside the chest. She felt around the corners and, sure enough, she found cracks just big enough to slip her fingernails into, and she pried up the wood to reveal a secret compartment beneath. Within this lay a large, leather bound book, the same one she remembered from her childhood.

 

"I’ve found it!" She exclaimed, and Rumplestiltskin hurried into the room as fast as his ankle would allow. He settled down on the floor beside her, and as the sun began to slink toward the horizon, they poured over the tome in search of a solution to their plight. 

 

Just as night fell they found it: while there was no way for Rumplestiltskin to remain on land with Belle, there was a way for Belle to live beneath the sea. If she were to put on a selkie’s sealskin, she’d become one herself, and be able to be with him forever. How they were to acquire a sealskin, however, was a problem unto itself, at least until Belle recalled one of the stories her mother had told her.

 

Her mother had spoken of a selkie maiden who’d loved a human prince, and how for years the two had lived in a palace both in and out of the sea, the selkie living with her lover during the day and returning to her own underwater chambers at night. When the prince died the selkie, in despair for her lost love, would not leave his side and at length she died as well, leaving behind her own sealskin. This was taken from the palace by a servant, a man who, her mother said, would soon after become Belle’s great-grandfather. The sealskin was buried beneath the floorboards of the house that the man had built, the very cottage in which they sat. 

 

The night was upon them and the moon fast rising as Belle explained her plan. Quickly the two worked to tear up the boards by the fireplace- the spot where Belle’s mother had told her the sealskin was buried. The work was slow and toiling, and eventually Rumplestiltskin felt weak as the end of his time on land came nigh. With a scant few minutes left ‘til midnight, Belle unearthed a wooden case and the silken skin within. 

 

She pulled her companion to his feet once more, hurrying down toward the shore in desperation to make it before midnight. With not one minute to spare, their feet touched the surf, and Rumplestiltskin fell down beside her in the frothing foam. She saw his form shift in the moonlight, his legs joining into a sleek furred tail, right flipper still bruised. With no hesitation, Belle pulled off her dress and threw the sealskin around her, stepping into the waves. As the water reached up around her she felt herself change, and at once the cold and dark ceased to plague her, now with sealskin and seal eyes to warm her and guide her. 

 

She dipped below the waves fully, and saw Rumplestiltskin waiting for her just below. She rose up out of the water just once more, looking back at the city lights for one last time, before diving down again. Just off of shore she joined her companion, taking his hand and following him off toward where a warm sea cave was waiting, with a selkie pup she’d saved so many months before. She smiled, thinking of the open ocean spread out before her, and of the warm and gentle hand clasping hers.


End file.
